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Recent talks between South and North Korea have made significant progress in warming relations between the two former enemies. Although they have yet to yield substantive results, they have helped to cultivate a stable and peaceful environment on the peninsula. This is significant, as it advances the hopes for unification of the whole Korean people.
Next year will be the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the two Koreas as separate, independent countries. From the viewpoint of nation-building, the events should be welcomed and celebrated. However, for the Korean people, the anniversary marks a time of separation and isolation. For 60 years, family, friends and fellow Koreans could not freely visit each other. Therefore the 60th anniversary will arouse memories of pain and unhappiness as well.
If the two sides can sit together and discuss issues, it means they are willing to reconcile their differences rather than continue on the path of confrontation and war. For the sake of eventual unification, they will need to discuss ideological as well as economic issues, and even political arrangements for a future unified government.
Korean unification and Chinese unification bear some resemblances. Thus the political process followed by the two Koreas could shed light on the possible process for Chinese unification, although the situations are not exactly the same. At least the Koreans have started taking steps forward, while the Chinese remain static.
Korean unification is an issue of sovereignty. The Republic of Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea are two sovereign states. Both are members of the United Nations. However, the Chinese situation is different. The People's Republic of China is a sovereign state, a legal entity and a U.N. member state, while the Republic of China is not. Taiwan's legal status is as a province of the People's Republic of China. Therefore, there are tough issues to be discussed between the two entities, including legitimacy, sovereignty and morality.
Why legitimacy? The essence of legitimacy lies in the legal force that binds entities into a relationship. Marriage, for example is a legal relationship between husband and wife, a binding contract that establishes their family as a legitimate entity.
The extension of legitimacy to a nation can be called sovereignty, which involves issues of territory, people and government. Without a legal force binding these three elements together, however, there could be no sovereign state. Legal recognition is essential; otherwise any community could consider itself a state.
The third issue, morality -- or international norms - also must be considered. Norms play a leading role in allowing the international system to function; otherwise the world would be chaotic, there would be endless wars, conflicts and human-made disasters.
The Korean process of seeking reunification of their divided land bears watching. The approach to resolving issues of ideology, economy, military and political arrangements may hold suggestions for the process of Chinese unification. After all, the Koreans have already started talking. Sitting down and talking together is the ideal approach to unification, whether of Korea or China.
